


Promise Me

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 16:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2156796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dakota Twins remember their mother on the anniversary of her death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise Me

_“Promise me, you two will look after each other. No matter what stupid thing the other one does, you stick together and keep each other safe. You hear me?”_

 

To anyone else, it was a regular day. April 18th came and went every year without much notice from everyone else. It was assumed they took the day off because it was their birthday that first year since each of them had that same sullen look when they admitted to a major event in the life passing without the comfort of family.

 

The two of them could always be found on the starboard observation deck.

 

“Hey North, remember that time mom made us pie for our birthday because we didn’t want cake and you had to explain to mom that the dog wanted the pie so we wouldn’t get in trouble for eating it before dinner?” South asked from her brother’s lap, handing him the bag of cherries they had taken from the kitchen.

 

“I knew she wouldn’t believe it. I knew, but I needed to set a good example for you.” North smiled down at her, spitting out the pits into their shared cup.

 

“You are seventeen minutes older than me. Don’t give me that good example crap,” she shot back, batting at his chin, “besides, I knew you would get away with it. She always wanted me to be more ladylike.”

 

“She believed me because we were eight. How can you get mad at your eight year old on their birthday, even if they ate all of their peach pie with his sister before grandma could get there. What about the time when we were thirteen you broke your arm falling out of the tree mom told us not to climb?” North asked, popping a few more cherries in his mouth, “she was so mad about that.”

 

“She was mad about that because we told her we fell down the stairs and you landed on my arm while we tumbled down,” South added, spitting out her pits, “she also saw the twigs in my hair and the mud all over the bottom of us. She knew there was no way we had been in the house when it happened.”

 

“I remember a year later when she told us dad had died.” South went still.

 

“North,” she pleaded, grabbing a few more cherries.

 

“I remember because she just sat there at the kitchen table, waiting for us after school. She didn’t want to upset us further, but she had kept herself busy with food. Remember how she would bake? She baked a lot that day. I remember how upset she was, even though dad had been gone in the ends of The Great War for years, it still hit her like she had just seen him the day before.” HIs head dropped down to rest on hers. She pulled his arms around her, hoping the proximity would help him.

 

“North please.”

 

“She wouldn’t stop looking at me. She just hugged us for hours, saying we were all she had left of him. I can’t forget that.”

 

“I haven’t forgotten it either.” South ran her thumb over the back of his hand after setting the bag of cherries aside.

 

“I remember the one thing she admired about the two of us is that we always stuck together,” North said, changing the subject after wiping his face.

 

“She was still furious when I told her I signed up with the UNSC.”

 

“Did I ever tell you that she told me to sign up after you did?” North asked, tightening his hold on her for a moment, “she told me to stay by you.”

 

“That sounds like her a lot,” South murmured, her voice dropping, “I remember when she got her test results back.”

 

“South, we should remember the good times,” North offered, holding a cherry up for her.

 

“No, we never talk about this. We never talk about how we signed up once we were 18 and before we left for training, she--”

 

“Because we know what happened.”

 

“Why was it so aggressive? Why was it inoperable? Why did we have to watch her lay there and die those last few months of our last year of school because none of the rest of the family would come to visit? Why did dad have to be gone so much and go off and die and leave us alone? Why did she have to leave us alone too?” North could hear her sniffles, her voice breaking every couple of words.

 

“South, we’ve made it this far.”

 

“But it would have been so much easier if we made it this far with her! How often does Wash get care packages from his mother and sisters? How often does York get a letter from his uncle or Maine from his brother? How often does CT get boxes from her sister? When we go to port, the only ones without any kind of mail are us and Carolina. She also has the excuse of her mom being dead, but she said her dad just doesn’t care about her.” South felt her anger leave her as soon as the words did, deflating.

 

“We have each other though, South.” North kissed the top of her head. The two of them sat there, holding each other. North waved back at York, motioning for him not to approach. He turned the other way, giving North a thumbs up.

 

“Remember the last thing she said to us?” South asked in a quiet voice.

 

“I remember.”

 

“She said ‘promise me, you two will look out for each other. Have each other’s back. Don’t go your separate ways. You two should never find a time where you can’t lean on the other one. Promise me.’ I still think about her saying that.” She paused. “Have you ever thought about it?”

 

“Leaving you? Not once, kiddo. Mom wouldn’t like it. I’ll always be watching your back.” He gave her another hug.

 

“Good. And I’ll be watching yours.”

 

“We can’t let mom down at this point. She’s watching us from one of these stars.” North pointed out, motioning out the observation deck’s windows.

 

“Well, any of them but the Cancer constellation. Fuck Cancer.”

 

 


End file.
